Flat knitting machine



July 31, 1934. M. NEBEL 1,963,162

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a? T my k w E a Q6 it w g b N Ive/7X02".- ///0 r 4 ee/ Patented July 31,1934' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FLAT KNITTING MACHINE Max Nebel,Chemnitz, Germany Application July 23, 1932, Serial No. 624,316

In Germany July'Z'I, 1931 I r.

Y 9 Claims. (CI. 66-82) My invention relates to flat knitting machinesor hosiery frames. It is an object of my invention to so design amachine of this type that various operations can be performed onit-without- 13 stance, twice the gauge of the complete set, so

that the gauge of the complete set is equal to one half of the gauge inthe rows, 1. e., to the normal gauge, and connect the needle bars insuch manner that they can be displaced with respect to each other onlyin parallel to the axes of their needles but move in unison transverselyto this direction.

Various operations may be performed in this machine and it is inparticular suitable for the manufacture of the knitted fabric describedin my copending application for patent of the United States, Ser. No.622,486, filed July 14, 1932, for Knitted fabric.

In this application I have described a fabric which will not unmesh andin which the rows of needle loops and the wales in the fabric are formedfrom two threads. The needle loops in each row are alternately'formedfrom one of the two threads and the thread portions of each thread whichextend inter-mediate the loops formed from this thread, span the openends of the loops formed from the other thread, and vice versa.

My machine may also be used for the knitting of fabrics of other kindsthan the fabric described in my said copending application, withoutrequiring special appliances, for instance, for knitting tuck patterns,ladders patterns,-and a particular kind of fabric similar to ribbedgoods which is obtained by knitting with a thinner and a thicker thread,plain fabrics, reinforced fabrics, plaited fabrics, etc., with patternsand variations of any kind.

By these means, machine by which plain and many other fabrics can beknitted without special appliances, and my machine can even be convertedfrom a given operation on a fabric to another operation in the samefabric, so that, for instance, the operation may change from patternedfabric. of any kind to normal plain fabric, or to the fabric describedin my said copending application, etc.

It is another object of my invention to provide an improved needle onwhose eye the thread is sunk and divided. To this end the eye of theneedle is bent with .its upper portion of its hook extending in parallelto the axis of the needle, and the hook ending in a point which isadapted to engage in the groove of the needle when the needle ispressed.

I have provided a universal .for the landing operation subsequent uponthe In the drawings affixed to this specification andforming partthereof a machine embodying my invention and various operations to beperformed thereon, are illustrated diagrammatically byway of example.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a transverse section of the machine, Fig. 2 isan. elevation of its needle bars, viewed from the left in Fig. 1 anddrawn to a large scale,

Fig. 3* is a plan view of the needle bars, partly in section on the lineIII-411 in Fig. 1,

Fig. 4 is a section on theline IV--IV in Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 showsa portion of a needle bar, with the grooves for thereception'of the needles, drawn to a still larger scale,

Fig. 6 is an elevation ofa needle, drawn to the same scale as Fig, 5,

Figs. "7, 8 and 9 are sectional elevationsof the needle bar and the jackand dividing sinkers, showing the .parts in the positions they occupyshortly before the beginning of the pressing operation,

Figs. 10, 11 and 12 show the positions of the parts during the initialstage of the pressing operation,

Figs. 13, 14 and 15 show the positions of the parts during the finishingstage of the pressing operation, 1

Figs. 16 and 1'7 show the positions of the jack and dividing sinkers andthe needles when land- Figs. 18, 19 and 20 show positions of parts whichcorrespond to the positions illustrated in Figs. '7 to 9, but with theneedles in another position,

Figs. 21, 22 and 23 show the parts in positions corresponding to thoseinFigs. 18, 19 and 20, with the distinction, however, that here theneedles of one row move at higher velocity,

Figs. 24, 25 and 26 show the positions of the parts during the pressingoperation subsequent upon the operation illustrated in Figs. 21 to 23,

and

Figs. 2'7 and 28 show the positions of the parts operation illustratedin Figs. 24 to 26.

Referring now to the drawings, and first to Figs, 1, 2 and 3, 1 is theframe of the machine, 2 and 3 are suitable bracing members forming partof the frame, and 4 is a cam shaft which is mounted to rotate inbearings of the frame and operated by any suitable means (not shown),with three cams 5, 6 and 7. 8 and 9 are rocking levers on a shaft 10, 11is a roller at the free end of the lever 8 which bears on the cam 5, and12 is a roller at .the free end of the lever 9 which bears on the cam 6.13 is a thirdrocking leveron a shaft 14, with a roller 15 at its freeend for cooperation with the cam '7. The arms are extended beyond thepivots of their rollers and each extension is equipped with a spring 16which applies each roller to its cam.

The levers 8 and 9 operate the needle bars and the lever 13 serves foroperating the presser lever, as will be described. 17 is an arm whichextends at right angles to the lever 8 and moves in unison with thelever. The boss of the other lever 9 is mounted to turn freely on theshaft 10 and is equipped with an arm 18. The arm 17 is pivoted to a pin19, Figs. 2' and 4, 20 are two links on opposite ends of the pin 19, 21are pins to which the other ends of the links 20 are connected, and 23is a needle-bar bracket to whose upper end one of the needle bars, 24,is secured by a pair of screw bolts 25, while the pins 21 are insertedin suitable eyes at its lower end. -By these means the arm 17 isconnected to the needle bar 24 through the medium of the pin 19, thelinks 20, the pins 21 and the bracket 23. The other arm 18 is pivoted toa pin 25 at the lower end of a bracket 26 to which the other needle bar27 is secured by screw bolts 28 or the like The presser arm 29 issecured to the needle bar 27 by screw bolts 30 and 31 ina T-bar at itsupper end. The arms 17 and 18 with their accessories are duplicated atopposite sides of the presser arm, as

shown in Fig. 2. 32 is a link which is pivoted to the lower. .end of thepresser arm 33 and is equipped w ith a notch 34 for engaging a pin 35 onthe lever 13, and a handle 36 at its free end for lifting it out ofengagement with the pin 35.

It will beunderstood that the needle bar 24 is reciprocated verticallyby the arms 17 to which it is connected by the links 20, the pins 21 andthe brackets 23, and that the needle bar 27 is reciprocated verticallyby the arms 18 which are directly connected to the brackets 26 by thepins 25. The presser arm 29 is oscillated about the pins 25 by therocking lever 13 to which it is connected by the link 32.

The needle bar 24 has a row of needles 37 and the needle bar 2'7 has arow of needles 38. The needle bars, as shown for a portion of the needlebar 24 in Fig. 5, have grooves 39 for the reception of the needle heels.Their upper edges are inclined in opposite directions from the needles,and the needle heels are bent into the shape of the letter U, but withthe upper portion of the heel inclined at the same angle as the upperface of the corresponding needle bar. Holes 40 are provided in thegrooves 39 for the reception of the horizontal heel ends. The positionof a needle heel in its groove 39 is best seen in Fig. 7. If the normalgauge of the needles is t, the needles in each row of the needle bars 24and 27 are pitched at 2t, as seen in Fig. 5, and the grooves in the twoneedle bars are staggered for the gauge t so that the needles whilepitched at the double gauge 2t in the individual rows, are pitched atthe normal gauge t in the complete set and make up a single row, withthe needles in one place.

One of the needles 38 in the needle bar 27 at the left in Fig. 7 isillustrated in Fig. 6, the needles 37 in the other bar 24 being exactlylike those in the bar 27. The eye 41 of the needle is bent over at thetop to form the hook. The top'portion 42 of the hook is parallel to thetop portion of the needle for a certain length. It has been foundconvenient to make the length of the parallel portion about one third ofthe total length of the hook. The two parallel portions are so arrangedthat the distance of their outer faces from each other is equal to thediameter of the needle stem.

- The parallel portion 42 of the hook is connected to the point 43 ofthe hook by an inclined portion 44, and the point is adapted toenter theusual groove 45 in the stem of the needle.

The needles 37 and 38 are placed in the grooves 39 of the respectiveneedle bars with their heels, the upper portion 46 of the heel beinginclined in parallel to the inclined upper portion of the groove 39 andthe horizontal lower portion 47 of the heel being inserted in the hole40 of the groove. The needles are held in position by detachable covers,48 on the bar 24 and 49 on the bar 27, which are secured by screw bolts50 and are. preferably divided, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The bars aremounted to slide on each other with their inner faces in parallel to theaxis of the needles under the action of the arms 17 and 18 and are heldagainst displacement transversely to this direction by channeled slidebars 51 and 52 at opposite ends of the needle bars. The slide bars aresecured to the needle bar 27 by stud screws 53 in one of their flanges.The opposite flange is provided with a jib or tongue 54 which engages ina groove of the other needle bar 24. The needle bars 24 and 27 are freeto slide on each other with their inner faces in transverse direction,i. e., in the direction parallel to the axes of the needles, but theyare held against relative displacement in longitudinal direction by theslide bars 51 and 52.

Mounted on a transverse bar 55 of the frame 1 (Fig. 1) are guides 56 and57 for the jack and dividing sinkers 59 and 60. 58 are the knock-overbits below the guide 56.

Referring now to Fig. 16, the front portion of each dividing sinker 60is a little lower at its corresponding jack sinker 59 (but otherwiseboth sinkers are of equal height, an inclined portion 31 extending fromthe lower portion of the edge of each dividing sinker 60 to the level ofthe upper edge of the corresponding jack sinker 59. Each jack and eachdividing sinker is equipped with an upper thread rest 62 and a lowerthread rest 63. As the rests in the jack and dividing sinkers register,only the rests in the jack sinkers 59 are visible. The outer face 64 ofthe lower guide 56 is the presser bar.

Referring now to the figures illustrating various stages of operation,and first to Figs. 7, 8 and 9, the knitting of the fabric described inmy said copending application will first be described. 65 and 66 are thethreads which are controlled by suitable thread guides. not shown. Fig.7 shows the needle bars 24 and 27 in the initial position after thesinking and dividing of the threads 65 and 66. The threads 65 and 66have been placed into the thread rests 62 and 63 of the correspondingsinking jacks 59, and sunk into loops which are divided by the dividingsinkers 60 advancing with the jack sinkers 59, as shown in Fig. 7. Theneedle bars 24 and 27 are so positioned with respect to each other thatthe eyes of the needles 38 in the bar 27 are above the upper edge of thesinkers, while the needles 37 in the bar 24 are lowered until theirparallel hook portions 42 are at the level of the upper thread rest 62in the sinkers. The threads 65 and 66 are consequently sunk on theneedle stems but in different positions with respect to the points 43 ofthe needles. Fig. 8 illustrates this, showing one of the needles 38 andthe threads 65 and 66 on its stem. Fig. 9 shows the position of a needle37 with respect to the sinkers 59, 60. It will appear that in thisposition the upper thread 65 is sunk and divided by the respectivesinkers on the parallelportion 42 of the needle hook, i. e., on the eyeof the needle and not on its stem, and this is a most importantimprovement as compared with needles having the normal rounded eyes. Thelower thread 66 is sunk and divided below the point 43.-

The relative displacement of the needle bars 24 and 27 in parallel tothe axes of their needles is effected by the arms 17 and 18 under thecontrol of the cams 5 and 6, and their movement in unison for pressingis effected by the cam 7, the lever 13 and the presser arm 29, as willnow be described with reference to Figs. 10, 11 and 12.

Both needle bars 24 and 27 are about to move together toward the presserbar- 64 in Fig. 12. The needle bar 24, with the. needles 37, moves downslowly while the bar 27, with the needles 38, has moved in the samedirection but at a more rapid rate. In the position illustrated in Fig.2 the bar 27 has descended so far with respect to the bar 24 that theeyes of its needles 38 have moved into the vicinity of the eyes of theneedles 37. In this position theloops of thread which have been sunk anddivided on the needles 38, are directly below the points 43 of theneedles '38 while the loops on the thread 66 are still at a considerabledistance below the points 43, as shown for one of the needles 38 in Fig.11. The shanks of thread 66 which are sunk on the needles 37, have movedbelow the points 43 of needles 37 owing to the vertical movement ofthese needles. The loops from the thread 65 are still on the parallelhook portion 42 of this needle, as shown in Fig. 12.

Referring now to Figs. 13, 14 and 15, the needles 37 and 38 are now incontact with, and pressed by, the presser bar 64, the points 43 of theneedles 38 being engaged by the upper, and the points of the needles 37being engaged by the central portion of the presser bar 64. The loopsfrom the thread 65 which have been sunk and divided on the needles 38,are directly-below the pressed points 43 and the loops from the thread66 are at some distance below the pressed points on the stems of theneedles, as shown in Fig. 14. Upon the fur-- I ther pressing movement bywhich the loops from thread 65 are drawn into the thread rests 62 and63, the loops from the thread 66 in the thread rests which have beensunk on the parallel hook portions 42 of the needles 38, are thrown offfrom these needles. The needles 37 support the sunk and divided shanksof threads 66 on their stems below the pressed points 43, the loops ofthread 65 which have been sunk and divided on the parallel portions 42of these needles, having left their parallel portions, as shown in Fig.15, owing to the continued downward movement of the needles from thepositions shown in Figs. 10 and 12.

Figs. 16 and 17 show the landing position of the needles 37 and 38. Theneedle bars 24 and 27 not shown in these figures) are at the same level.The needles 38, Fig. 16, are just going to draw a loop 652) from thread65 through a previously formed loop 66b of thread 66. The shank 66a fromthread 66 which is still on the needles 38. as

shown in Figs. 13 and 15 is thrown off from the eye 41 of the needle 38between the point 43 of the needle and the presser bar 64 before thelandin of th loop 66b during the vertical displacement of the needle 38when being pressed, and after having been finished, the shank 66a islaid on the newly formed loop 65b as a new loop 66a. The needles37,'Fig. 17, are just going to pull the loop 661) from thread 66 whichis engaged by their points 43, through the previously formed loop 65bfor formin a new loop in the known manner.

The thrown-off loop 65a, Fig. 15, is at the left side of the new, loop66b after the operation has been completed.

After this stage, the knocking-over movements are performed bydisplacing the bars 24 and 27 in parallel but these movements are notillustrated. At the beginning of the knocking-over movement, 1. e., whenthe needles 37 and 38 move from the knocking-over position upwardly intothe sinking position, the needle bar 24 moves up into its initialposition while the needle bar 27 is held in a lower position, as shownin Fig. 18, which illustrates the position of the bars during theknitting of the next row after the row the knitting of which hasbeen'described with reference to Figs. 7 to 17. This position is similarto the position illustrated in Fig. 7, with the distinction,however,-that-for knitting the next row the needle bars 9 and 10 arereversed as to their relative position, the needles 37 of the'bar 24being raised and the needles 38 of the bar 27 beinglowered. In thisposition, the thread 65 is sunk and divided on the parallel portions 42of the needles 38, Fig, 19, and the thread 66 is sunk and divided on thestems of the needles 37 in its lowermost position, Fig. 20.

The movements according to Figs..21, 22 and23 are the same as those forthe corresponding stage of the preceding rows, Figs. 10, 11 and 12, withthe distinction that for the next row the needles 37 move faster whilethe needles 38 move more slowly with their respective bars. After thesemovements have been performed the needles are applied to the presser bar64 as shown in Fig. 24, but in contradistinction to the preceding row,Figs. 13, 14 and 15, the needles 38 are now applied to the central, andthe needles 37 to the upper, portion of the presser bar. The loops ofthe thread 65 on the needles 38 are not pressed below the points 43.but, being'sunk on the parallel hook portions 42 of the needles, arethrown off by the needles during their vertical movement as shanks 65a,Fig. 25. The shanks 66a of the thread 66, Fig. 26, which are sunk anddivided on the needles 37 are thrown off between the presser head andthe eyes of the needles while the needles move along the presser head64.

Referring now to Figs. 27 and 28, the needle bars are omitted as inFigs. 16 and 17. and the needles are shown in the landing position; inwhich they are at the same level. This position. however, isdistinguished from the corresponding position for a preceding row, Figs.16 and 17. in that on account of the reversed movement of theneedles 37and 38 and of the different positions which the two sunk threads assumewith respect to the needles, in consequence thereof. the loop 65b isdrawn through the loop 661) on the needles 37 so that on these needlesthe threads 65 are formed into loops 65d in contradistinction from thepreceding row. Figs. 16 and 17. in which the thread 66 had been formedinto loops 66b while the loops 66a of thread 66-are laiddown a's shanks.The needles 38. Fig. 27, form new loop 66?) from the thread 66 while inthe preceding row, Fig. 17, they had formed new loops 65b from thethread 65. The shanks in this row. Fig. 26. are formed from thethrown-off shanks of threads 65 while the correing-over position (notillustrated) into the looking position, Figs. 18, 19 and 20, is notinterfered with by the relative vertical movement of the needle bars 24and 27 because during the narrowing or covering operation the needlesare maintained at the same level.

By performing the respective operations in the manner described forknitting a fabric according to my said copending application, I may alsoobtain the above mentioned particular kind of fabric which is similar toribbed goods, by knitting with two; threads of the same material but ofdifferent thickness, or with threads of different materials, forinstance, a silk and a lisle or woolen thread, of'equal thickness. Inthis manner loops of different volume are obtained so that the walesalternately are thicker and th'nner. In the case of a silk and a lislethread the wales from the silk thread are thinner and the wales from thelisle thread are thicker and such fabrics, if not inspected veryclosely, have the appearance of ribbed goods. In order to avoid thechanging of the thread in the wales which is required for knitting thefabric according to my said copending application, I proceed in suchmanner that for each row of loops the same needle bar 24 or 27'is in thetopmost position so that one of the threads or 66 is invariablyconducted to one row of needles and the other to the other row, by thethread guides. The operations described with reference to Figs. 7 to 17are repeated, i. e., the needle bar 27 with the needles 38 assumes itstopmost position when sinking and dividing, and the needle bar 27 withthe needles 37 assumes its lowermost position. The thread 65 which maybe a woolen or lisle thread, is pressed below the points 43 of needles38 only and the thread 66 is thrown off from the parallel hook portions42 of the same needles 38, while the thread 66, which may be a silkthread, is pressed below the points 43 of needles 37 only and the thread65 is thrown off from the parallel hook portions of the same needles 37.The wales formed from the woollen or lisle thread 65 by the needles 38are thicker than the wales formed from the silk thread 66 by the needles37.

The different volume of the loops may also be obtained by so selectingthe materials of the threads that one of the threads swells uponfinishing or dyeing. If the needles 37 and 38 are uniformly distributedin the rows of their respective needle bars, i. e., one half of theneedles of the set is in one row and the other half is in the other row,as shown, thick wales alternate with thin wales. However, I may alsoarrange the needles at different gauges in the individual rows. Forinstance, I may pitch the needles 38 in the bar 27 at a gauge equal tofour times the normal gauge t while the needles 3'7 in the other bar 24are at normal gauge, so that the needles 38 form a gap of the length 2tafter each third needle 37 and each fourth Wale will be thicker than thethree other wales.

If it is desired to knit ladder patterns the needle bars 24 and 27 maybe equipped with normal needles instead of the needles shown in Fig. 6.Only one thread is supplied to the needles of one of the bars, while theother bar is moved out of its active position, i. e., lowered .so farthat no loops are formed on its needles by the advancing sinkers. Forinstance, the needle bar 27 with the needles 38 may be placed ininactive position as shown in Fig. 16, while the other bar 24 with theneedles 37 is in its normal position during the sinking operation, asshown in Fig. 9. Thread 65 is supplied to the needles 37 only and loopsare formed on these needles only while a hole forms above each inactiveneedle 38. The number of ladder wales with respect to the normal walesis determined by the number of needles in the needle bar 27. By suitablyselecting the number of needles 38 in this bar, ladder wales may beformed alternately with normal wales or several ladder wales may beinserted between each second, each third, etc., normal wale.

A most important advantage of my novel machine if used for knittingladders or other patterns, is that by throwing in the needle bar whichhad been inactive during the knitting of the pattern, for instance,ladder wales in a stocking, the machine may be converted immediately forknitting the heel and the heel top of the stocking. In other words,normal, plain, reinforced or plaited fabric may be knitted immediatelyupon the knitting of the pattern, and vice versa, Without anyauxiliaries.

If it is desired to knit tuck patterns, the two needle bars are operatedin the manner illustrated in Figs. 7 to 22 but that needle bar which isin its lowermost position at the time, for instance, the bar 24 with itsneedles 37, Fig. 13, is lowered before all needles are pressed so thatthe previously formed loops on the needles 4 cannot be thrown ofi fromthe hook portions 42 of their needles. By suitably varying thedistributin of the needles in the two needle bars 24 and 27 and byalternating uniformly or non-uniformly the elevated and loweredpositions of both needle bars with respect to each other during thesinking of each row, tuck patterns of the most varied bars as describedwhich are displaced transversely with respect to each other but move inunison longitudinally, it is possible for the first time in the simplestmanner and without substantial alterations in the design of the old flatknitting machine to sink one or two or more threads in one row atvarious distances from the eyes of the needles. With the eyes of myneedle equipped with the parallel hook portion 42, I may, with theneedle bars having needles pitched at 2t, sink a thread on the stern ofone needle and on the eye of another needle in the same row, and a1-ternate these operations regularly. It is important that the parallelhook portions 42 are in theextension of the side of the stem which facesthe sinkers 59, 60 so that the loops sunk on the parallel hook portionsand thrown ofi as shanks, are as long as those sunk on the stem, whichlatter may also be thrown off as shanks, or moved to a point below theeyes for forming loops.

I wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to theexact details of construction shown and described for obviousmodifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

In the claims afiixed to this specification no selection of anyparticular mod fication of the invention is intended to the exclusion ofother modifications thereof and the right to subsequently make claim toany modification not covered by these claims is expressly reserved.

I claim? 1. In a fiat knitting machine, a pair of needle bars, a row ofneedles on each bar, the needles in each row being staggered withrespect to those in the other row and pitched at such a gauge that thegauge of the'complete set is equal to the normal gauge, means forconnecting said needle bars in such manner that they can be displacedwith respect to each other only in parallel to the axes of theirneedles, but are held against displacement v transversely to thisdirection, means for moving each needle bar individually in parallel tothe axes of its needles, and means for moving the two needle barstogether transversely to this direction.

2. In a flat knitting machine, a pair of needle bars, a row of needleson each bar, the needles in each row being staggered with respect tothose in the other row and pitched at twice the normal gauge so that thegauge ofthe complete set is equal to the normal gauge, means forconnecting said needle bars in such manner that they can be displacedwith respect to each other only in parallel to the axes of theirneedles, but are held against displacement transversely to thisdirection, means for moving each needle bar individually in parallel tothe axes of its needles, and means for moving the. two needle barstogether transversely to this direction.

3. In a flat knitting machine, a pair of needle bars, a row of needleson each bar, the needles in each row being staggered with respect tothose in the other row and pitched at such a gauge that the gauge of thecomplete set is equal to the normal gauge and that the two rows togethermake up a single row, with the needles in one plane, means forconnecting said needle bars in such manner that they can be displacedwith respect to each other only in parallel to the axes of theirneedles, but are held against displacement transversely to thisdirection, means for moving each needle bar-individually in parallel tothe axes of its needles, and means for moving the two needle barstogether transversely to this direction.

4. In a fiat knitting machine, a pair of needle bars, a row of needleson each bar,'the needles in each row being staggered with respect tothose in the other row and pitched at such a gauge that the gauge of thecomplete set is equal bars, a row of needles on each bar, the needles ineach row being staggered with respect to'those in the other row andpitched at such a gauge that the gauge of the complete set is equal tothe normal gauge, means for connecting said needle bars in such mannerthat they can be displaced with respect to each other only in parallelto the axes of their needles, but are held against displacementtransversely to this direction, a cam per needle bar, a rocking leveroperatively connected to one of said cams at one end and to a link atits other end which in turn is connected to one of the needle bars,another rocking lever operatively connected to the other cam at one endand pivoted directly to the other needle bar at its other end, a presserarm mounted to rock about the pivotal connection of the other arm to theother needle arm, a rocking lever operatively connected to said presserarm, and a cam for rocking said lever.

6. In a flat knitting machine, a pair of needle bars, a row of needleson each bar, the needles in each row being staggered with respect tothose in the other row and pitched at such a gauge that the gauge of thecomplete set is equal to the normal gauge, means for connecting saidneedle bars in such manner that they can be displaced with respect toeach other only in parallel to the axes of their needles, but are heldagainst displacement transversely to this direction, means for movingeach needle bar individually in parallel to the axes of itsneedles,-means for moving the two needle bars together transversely tothis direction, and jack sinkers and dividing sinkers each having a pairof thread rests.

7. In a fiat knitting machine, a pair of needle bars, a row of needleson eachbar, an eye on each needle which is adapted for the sinking anddividing of the thread, the needles in each row being staggered withrespect to those in the other row and pitched at such a gauge that thegauge of the complete set is equal to the normal gauge, means forconnecting said needle bars in such manner that they can be displacedwith respect to each other only in parallel to the axes of theirneedles, but are held against displacement transversely to thisdirection, means for moving each needle bar individually in parallel tothe axes of its needles, and means for moving the two needle barstogether transversely to this direction.

8. In a flat knitting machine, a pair of needle bars, a row of needleson each bar, an eye on each needle, the upper portion of whose hookextends in parallel to the axis of the needle, the needles in each rowbeing staggered with respect to those in the other row and pitched atsuch a gauge that the gauge of the complete set is equal to the normalgauge, means for connecting said needle bars in such manner that theycan be displaced with respect to each other only in parallel to the axesof their needles, but areheld against displacement transversely to thisdirection, means for moving each needle bar individually in parallel tothe axes of its needles, and means for moving the two needle barstogether transversely to this direction.

9. In a fiat knitting machine, a pair of needle bars, a row of needleson each bar, an eye on each needle, the upper portion of whose hookextends in parallel to the axis of the needle, while the lower portionof the hook is formed with a point adapted to engage in a groove of theneedle, the needles in each row being staggered with respect to those inthe other row and pitched at such a gauge that the gauge of the completeset is equal to the normal gauge, means for connecting said needle barsin such manner that they can be displaced with respect to each otheronly in parallel to the axes of their needles, but are held againstdisplacement transversely to this direction, means for moving eachneedle bar individually in parallel to the axes of its

